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Stuyvesant Town-Peter Cooper Village Likely For Sale...Again

A historic middle income apartment complex on Manhattan's east side — Stuyvesant Town-Peter Cooper Village — appears headed for sale again.

Tishman Speyer and BlackRock bought the 1940's-era development with its roughly 11,200 middle-income apartments for a whopping $5.4 billion in 2006 during the boom. Residents said the companies planned to push out tenants in the rent stabilized units to make the apartments market rate.

But the companies defaulted in 2010 after the market crashed and they turned over Stuyvesant Town-Peter Cooper Village to the lenders.

A firm representing the lenders started the foreclosure process on Tuesday — a step that will likely lead to a sale. The New York Times first reported on the foreclosure.

City Councilman Dan Garodnick grew up in the complex and still lives there. He said residents are worried they could see a repeat of 2006: an over-leveraged buyer could pay a bundle and try to cut affordable units to make a profit.

"That was the disaster we saw the last time around. We've seen this movie before. We do not want to go through it again," Garodnick said.

John Marsh, the tenant association's president, said residents have banded together in the hope of buying the property. He said they've lined up capital, legal muscle and political support, and are hopeful of their chances to take control of their community.

A spokesman for the firm that is initiating the foreclosure, CWCapital, did not respond to a request for comment.

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